


The 6th Pair

by ayrangel1331



Category: Naruto
Genre: @Sasuketemeuchiha/catdadof1a, Aftermath of Torture, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Don't Examine This Too Closely, Hallucinations, Inspired by Roleplay/Roleplay Adaptation, Kidnapping, Neither of us have medical training, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Panic Attacks, Psychological Torture, Slow To Update, Torture, please be careful reading this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-11-01 23:16:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20541584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayrangel1331/pseuds/ayrangel1331
Summary: An RP thread between @ayrangel1221 and @sasuketemeuchiha (now @catdadof1a) from like, 2015. Edited lightly, compiled, and posted with permission. Sasuke and Naruto, best friends, get kidnapped by a delusional woman and endure hell before they're found. This story is mainly the aftermath and healing. I suck at summaries, but give it a try. A space between paragraphs indicates a switch in who was writing. Don't worry too much about keeping up on who wrote what though.





	1. Chapter One

"Let's play a game, shall we?" The crazed woman gestured Naruto forward. "It's called 'how many organs can he remove before you die or he begs?" Naruto was numb with horror. How could he hurt Sasuke, his best friend? But he had to.

Everything was still pretty fuzzy. Last Sasuke recalled, he was on his way over to his best friend’s house and- was that Naruto’s voice? Had he made it there? He forced his eyes open to make sure, the one who had spoken mentioned a game and he and Naruto always played video games together.  
This didn’t look like a video game, though. This looked like some kind of torture chamber. The walls were an ugly sea foam green color, metal everywhere. He couldn’t make a lot of it out, his vision still hadn’t completely returned, but he knew he was strapped tightly to a cold surgical table. And that was when the panic begun. He tugged at the restraints but they wouldn’t budge, not even an inch. “What the hell is going on?” Sasuke demanded in a snarl, pulling with all his might.  
He froze when the shadow of a figure stood above him, able to discern the image of his best friend. “Naruto, what’s going on? What are you doing?” Then his eyes noticed another glint of metal, this one in Naruto’s hand. It was a knife, and his heart rate shot up considerably though he tried to keep his wits about him. “Naruto, what are you doing?!” He demanded once more, a little more frantic this time as he took in that blade.

Naruto shook, battling internally. He couldn’t cut Sasuke, wouldn’t. He prepared to drop the knife, but as soon as he hesitated, the woman was there again, digging claws into his shoulder, threatening him with the bottled hallucinogenic that had already had him in terror once while Sasuke was still asleep.  
“Remember what happened last time. I don’t think I can restart your heart again, little hero.”  
“I d-d-on’t care. He’s my friend.”  
Then a voice rose inside of him, clawing its way into his head.  
/Out of the way kid. If you die, we’re both in trouble. I’ll handle this./ Then Naruto was thrown backwards, into a dark room with only one window. He peered out, seeing what this new imposter was seeing.  
Blood. He screamed, but no one hear him.

Sasuke’s entire body still didn’t feel right. It felt like if he didn’t focus on his breathing, it would stop. He could feel a cold sweat on his neck and normally he was pretty good at controlling his emotions, but right now he felt completely powerless to keep that terror from welling up within him. “Naruto, stop!” He cried, pulling on the chains again.  
And for a time, Naruto hesitated. It seemed as if he was fighting with himself. Another voice was added to the mix but no one was in the room- he was losing it! Then Naruto was lowering that weapon again. It was all his eyes could seem to focus on since it was so slick and shiny that it easy caught his attention. “Naruto…” it was all he could think to say, the simply name choked with fear. This was it, he was going to die.

Naruto listened in horror as Sasuke called his name. He wanted to save his friend, but he couldn’t get out. He was trying, but the glass was too thick, the room too small.  
/Alright kid. We’ll start slow, so you don’t die. Skin is an organ right? Let’s start with that./ Naruto watched helplessly as his own hands calmly flayed of a strip of skin from Sasuke’s belly, not deep enough to damage muscle, but enough that dots of blood immediately appeared. Naruto screamed.  
“Who are you? Why are you doing this?” He cried to the entity that was controlling his body.  
/I’m Kurama. You must survive, so I’m ensuring to do./ the other voice replied, taking a strip from just above Sasuke’s ribs.  
“No!” Naruto screamed.

Why, why couldn’t Naruto just end this quickly? Sasuke thought to himself as his best friend started cutting off chunks of his skin. He could just run that knife through his heart and be done with it, so why was he torturing Sasuke like this? “Stop…” It was a barely audible whisper, no doubt uttered in vain.  
Why he turned his head to the left to try to avoid looking at his best friend, Sasuke noticed something on his arm. A couple of needle pricks - no wonder he felt so out of it, so lacking in control. He had been drugged. His head turned again, and this time he noticed a dark figure watching over Naruto’s shoulder. What he imagining things because of the drugs, or was she really there? Before he could open his mouth to ask who the blurry figure was, that knife pierced his skin again, causing him to cry out in agony. This had to end soon or he was going to go insane.

Kurama felt those needle sharp claws dig into his shoulder, and he paused.  
“Stop with the knife a moment. I have a treatment he needs.” He dropped his arms, passively watching as she trickled some of the hallucinogenic in his open wounds.  
“Wait about ten minutes, then use superficial cuts. Not only will he hallucinate, but his skin will be ultra sensitive.” Kurama nodded, ignoring the pounding behind his eyes that was the kid trying to escape. The woman left, deciding that watching from her cozy camera room was better. Finally though, he gave in and asked the question Naruto was screaming in his head.  
“Naruto wants me to ask if you’re okay.” He growled, moving into the raven haired boy’s line of sight.

All of a sudden, the pain stopped. Sasuke didn’t know when he’d started clenching his eyes shut, but he forced then open in time to watch that other figure approaching him now. It was a woman, he though, though everything was a blurry mess. She held out her hand and he clenched his eyes again, waiting for the pain, but it didn’t come. When his eyes fluttered open, she was gone. Maybe it was just his imagination…  
Why was this happening? The raven blinked slowly, as if his entire body was in slow motion, everything was moving at a snail pave around him. Then Naruto was in his line of sight, talking about himself in the third person, and Sasuke looked confused. “You’re Naruto…” He mumbled in reply. He didn’t know what else to say. Then he looked down at his chest to make sure he was still breathing. It didn’t feel like it, he had to focus on that.

Kurama shook his head.  
“Maybe this body is, but the Naruto you know is locked up in here.” He tapped his head. “He’s worried about you, very loudly too. You can call me Kurama. You might say I’m Naruto’s self preservation personified. The kid’s just too selfless for his own good.”  
The kid didn’t look very good. The drugs were probably up too high. Luckily, Naruto’s mother had been on a similar drip after a surgery, so he figured out how to turn down the drip.  
“You should be able to breathe easier now.” Kurama growled. Good luck.“ The hallucinogenic should have kicked in now. He picked up the knife again.

Sasuke didn’t seem as if he was understanding a singly would coming out of Kurama’s mouth, squinting his eyes a little as if that would help him understand. “Naruto… You stole his face.” That was the hazy conclusion that Sasuke had come to, a frown on his lips.  
Then his eyes moved to the wall beside where he was laying. It was turning different colors and he wasn’t really sure how that was happening without anyone painting it. Then he noticed his arm, and it looked like it was crumbling to dust or something.  
“Naruto, what’s happening?” He fumbled over the words, they were almost impossible to understand.

“Sorry kid. I have my orders.” He took the knife, carefully carving shallow lines down the kid’s arms.  
Naruto watched, desperately looking around for a way to stop this. The drug. His heart was still weak. The woman hadn’t taken the vial with her. He focused on just moving his legs, just taking control of those.  
/What are you doing?/ Kurama said, resisting so that Naruto wobbled. But he made it slowly to the vial. It was half full. Three drops had sent him into cardiac arrest. The more he took, the less she’d have for Sasuke.  
He glanced back at Sasuke, shaking and terrified. He set his jaw and gulped down the whole thing, dribbling much of it down himself as Kurama tried to resist.  
/Idiot!/ Kurama screamed. /You’re going to die!/  
“I know.” Naruto whispered. “But I’m in control now, so it’s worth it. You won’t hurt Sasuke anymore.” He walked slowly over to Sasuke, ripping his shirt to bandage the wounds. He shook with tears.  
“Sasuke, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry. Please be okay.”

Sasuke’s screams were deafening, tears pouring down his cheeks as he watched in horror tiny little trees beginning to grow from his wound, ripping them open wide. His heart was already beating about a million miles an hour, he couldn’t discern what was real and what was just his mind.  
Seeing Naruto starting to resist, the woman swiftly ran back to the room. This wasn’t really good. She left the door open as she ran in, which was what gave one Itachi Uchiha the chance to slip in behind her. Before she could even realize he was there, as she was shouting at Naruto, the young officer slammed his elbow against the side of her neck and knocked her out. He could have sworn Shisui came in behind him, but all he could focus on was Sasuke. His precious little brother covered in blood.  
He shoved Naruto out of his way, desperately cupping Sasuke’s face in his hands. His pupils were dilated and unfocused, he was trembling like a leaf and whimpering something about trees. “What happened to my little brother?” He demanded sharply.

Naruto sobbed, seeing the giant, fiery eyed man come in. He couldn’t breathe. His chest hurt. The ground was sucking him in.  
“I’m sorry.” He gasped. “It’s my fault. I’m sorry! Please save him.” He cried, feeling his heart stop. He collapsed, dizzy and choking. At least Sasuke would be safe. He closed his eyes.

It took every ounce of Uchiha stoicism for Itachi to keep from throwing up when his eyes flickered around that room. There were about twelve other children in that room, and Sasuke and Naruto were the only ones alive. Those other children weren’t just killed, they were mutilated beyond recognition. This was so close to being his little brother. If he had been a little slower. “Get it together, Itachi!” Shisui’s voice broke through his horrified trance. Experienced as Shisui was, he was a little better at handling all of that. “Focus on Sasuke. Get him to the ambulance.” He was already gathering Naruto into his arms personally. Itachi finally snapped out of it and unchained his little brother. The younger Uchiha screamed as he was lifted up, still muttering about trees and Naruto’s missing face between whimpers of pain.

He was so cold, so weak. He forced his eyes open. His world was edged with black. Something lifted him. He looked up and and a black winged angel was carrying him. Someone was screaming. Was that Sasuke? His head lolled as he tried to look at his friend. The fire demon was carrying him. “Nnnn….” He wanted to protest, to save Sasuke from the demon. He flopped weakly, still gasping. “‘ske. Let’m go.” He coughed, eyes streaming as his world threatened to go black.

Sasuke was a trembling mess, and no matter how careful Itachi tried to be with him, he was still in so much pain. And then Naruto started to stir. It was weak, though, and Shisui didn’t have a hard time keeping a grip on him. Itachi returned to gently shushing his baby brother, trying to relax the teen as best as I could.  
When the two arrived outside, the chief of police was just arriving at the scene, taking in his youngest son with a calm, serious look that only hinted at his rage. “Go to the hospital with them,” He muttered, stalking past Itachi observed way that made it obvious that there would be hell to pay for whoever did this.

Were the lights always so bright? Were voices always so loud and mumbling? He was sure he’d stopped breathing. Naruto closed his eyes, slipping away into a darkness where oxygen and a heartbeat didn’t matter.


	2. Chapter 2

“Shit,” Shisui swore when Naruto went limp in his arms, breaking into a run to get to the ambulance that had just pulled up. They had barely even opened the doors when Shisui jumped inside, placing Naruto’s onto the stretcher there. The next ambulance pulled up right after, and Itachi was quick to get Sasuke into that one. A breathing mask was placed over his mouth, muffling his mumbling and trying to get him to relax.

A burning hook snatched him from comfortable darkness. “…arge. Again.” Another shock. Naruto coughed, moaning, begging them to let him sleep. It was too cold. He still couldn’t breathe right. His chest felt heavy. “We’ve got him. Get an oxygen mask. Get that drip started.” Something pricked his arm. The air tasted funny. He started to cry. They were going to hurt him again. He couldn’t find Sasuke. Where was Sasuke?

A sedative was given to Sasuke to get the raven to stop thrashing, stop trying to pull invisible trees from his arms. Most of the cuts on Sasuke’s body were superficial, far from life threatening, so the doctors spent the trip to the ER bandaging them up while Itachi held his little brother’s hand to try and keep himself calm. Sasuke still seemed restless, he imagined the teen was still having terrible dreams.

“Sasuke!” Naruto screamed, trying to fight his way out of the spiked restraints around his wrists. Clawed hands were holding him down, burning him. He cried out as they sedated him.  
“I’m sorry kid. I know you’re terrified, but you’re going to hurt yourself. Your heart can’t take this strain.” Naruto sobbed as he was forced to relax.

Itachi never left his little brother’s side the entire time, remaining right beside the bed as the duo arrived at the hospital. He was still trying to get the images of those children out of his mind, but he had to focus on Sasuke now. Sasuke was restless, so he ran his thumb over the younger’s hand to try and ease his mind. “Sasuke and Naruto need to be kept together,” Itachi explained to the doctor.

Naruto was running, looking desperately for Sasuke. His limbs shook and his breaths were laboured, but he didn’t stop. A fox ran beside him, grumbling all the while.  
/I don’t like it, but you need the Sasuke kid, so I’ll help you look. Even if it is useless in a dream./ Naruto frowned, stopping his run.  
“This is a dream?”  
/Duh./ If this was a dream, Naruto could wake up. As soon as he thought it, a door appeared. He yanked against it, pulling back with all his weight.  
He awoke with a gasp, crying out from the pain that slammed into him like a sledgehammer.  
“Sasuke!” He screamed.

Sasuke was dreaming of being strapped to that table again, but each of his loved ones were there- Naruto, Itachi, his mother and father, Kakashi, anyone he’d ever even remotely cared for. Or so it seemed. Someone had actually taken all their faces and was wearing each of them as they stabbed him with a knife. No matter how many times they cut him, he didn’t bleed out, only cried and thrashed, begging for this man to stop.  
His wrists had been strapped to the bed. He’d been thrashing too much, almost pulling out his IV, he even accidentally hit a nurse in the face (Not that she was even mad about it). With a shuddering gasp, pulling sharply at the restraints, Sasuke’s eyes finally shot open. The hallucinogen had worked its way out of his system, as had the other drugs, but he was still in a complete panic because he didn’t remember being rescued. He thought it wasn’t over, especially with his hands restrained like they were. One of the nurses gently rested hands on his shoulders, trying to shush the frantic teen who was looking around swiftly but didn’t seem to actually see anything. “Their faces, someone took their faces!”  
“Shh, Mr. Uchiha, it’s okay, it was just a dream. No one has taken anyone’s faces.” The nurse spoke calmly to him, not wanting to resort to sedating him again. “Your brother just went to get a cup of coffee and when he returns, you’ll see that he’s fine.”  
“Naruto, someone took Naruto’s face and hurt me!” Sasuke cried in sudden remembrance of that Kurama person who looked exactly like Naruto. “Someone- someone named Kurama took his face and- and-”

Itachi walked in with his coffee and immediately rushed to his brother. He dropped the cup on a table and placed a hand on his brother’s arm.  
“Sasuke, hey, calm down. You’re safe. We got you both out.” He tried to catch his brother’s gaze, to make sure the teen recognized him. “It’s all going to be okay. Now, how do you feel?”

The raven seemed to be having a rough time grounding himself in reality at the moment, but as soon as his brother touched his arm, he felt a little better. “I- Itachi,” he mumbled his brother’s name before letting out a shaky sigh. “Itachi, I feel like I’ve lost my mind,” He admitted in a whisper. A low tremble ran through him as he remembered his dreams, biting his lip a little as tears gathered in his eyes without his permission. “Please don’t hurt me.”

It stabbed Itachi that his brother could ever dream that he’d hurt him. With those tears, he flinched slightly, biting his lip to regain some composure. “It’s fine. No one expects you to be okay yet. And I would never, ever hurt you. Do you believe me?” He never meant for his voice to crack on the end, but this pain in his brother’s eyes was tearing him apart.

Sasuke was trying his best to breathe, especially now that he could see Itachi was with him again. Seeing he’d relaxed, the nurse undid the restraints on his wrists, which also helped him feel a little better. His brother’s words danced in his mind as if he’d just heard them that instant. ‘You’re safe, we got you both out.’ “I believe you…” He mumbled after a long silence, though he still reached up to test and make sure his brother’s face wouldn’t come off. He was trying to believe, at least. “Itachi, where is Naruto? I… don’t think I understand what happened. There was someone there, he said his name was Kurama but he looked exactly like Naruto and he was hurting me. And this other figure, this ghost looking thing…. None of it makes sense, Itachi. I have no idea what I saw.”

Itachi let out a sigh of relief, closing his eyes briefly as Sasuke touched his face. Then he opened then as he answered.  
“He’s in getting his heart scanned, but he’ll be back any minute. I’m not sure who Kurama is, but it sounds like Naruto has a second personality who took over to protect him. The fact that Naruto nearly killed himself to save you though tells me that it wasn’t his choice to hurt you. The other figure was probably the woman who kidnapped the two of you.” He sighed, squeezing Sasuke’s arm gently. “You were drugged. I’m not surprised that you’re confused.”

Sasuke shook his head a little, pressing a palm against his forehead. None of that made any kind of sense to him. “My head hurts, Itachi. Start from the beginning,” he mumbled, peeking up at his older brother. “All I know is that I woke up strapped to this table. Naruto had a knife, he used it to make these cuts.” The petrified teen looked down at his chest where there are the wounds were. “I don’t get any of this. Why did he hurt me like this, aniki?”

Itachi was unsure if he should tell his brother the story while be was so clearly distressed. He searched Sasuke’s face.  
“If you don’t feel comfortable talking about this, or if you feel panicked at all, tell me immediately and I’ll stop.” With that, he began giving as short and basic of an explanation as possible.  
“Katsuya Nanami has struggled with her… Obsession with teenage boys for a while. She treated her own son and his best friend so badly that they committed suicide. Once he was gone, she started taking other kids to fulfill her fantasies. You and Naruto were the sixth pair.” He waited, making sure that his brother was okay.

“Sixth pair,” Sasuke repeated in a whisper, struck silent with shock for a moment. That meant twelve children. “How many of the others did you save?” A hint of hope sparked within Sasuke’s eyes. How long had he even been in that place? He could only recall the pain, time had seemed to fade away. Had he been awake before that incident with the knives? “How long was I gone for?” And what had happened when he couldn’t remember?

Itachi bit his lip, remembering that room.  
“She doesn’t take a new pair until the previous one dies.” He waited a moment to let that sink in. “You and Naruto were fine for almost three weeks. She kept you in a near coma while she attempted to condition Naruto to do her dirty work for her. She obviously got impatient because although this other personality did some damage, it’s all superficial and Naruto was able to break free of it.” He hated the next part.  
“Of course that means that although you received the torture of being hurt by your most trusted friend, he was awake and being abused for quite a bit longer than you. That’s why his heart was so much weaker. He’d been put through several… fear treatments, I guess you could call them, already.” He took a deep breath, realizing for the first time the scope of recovery needed for the both of them.

Three weeks… They had been gone three weeks and lived- barely anything had even happened to them though it felt like a lot. But these other kids… How long had they been missing in that place before they died? “I want to know who they were… The other children. Once it’s possible, I want a list of their names.” He couldn’t really describe why he felt so compelled to do this, but he wanted to know.  
And he could imagine Naruto would, too. He tried to take all of that in slowly, piece by piece, because his mind still felt like a jumbled up mess. He was disoriented and wanted so badly to remember, because he was pretty sure he hadn’t been unconscious for the whole three weeks, but all he could remember was waking up to Naruto. “When can I see him?” He was probably shaken up after all of that, blaming himself. Now that Sasuke was in a clearer state of mind, he remembered that he’d already known a little about Kurama. Naruto had talked about another half who kind of kept him safe, but he hadn’t given it a name when he’d spoken briefly of it.

Just as Sasuke asked, the door opened to allow them to wheel in a bed. Naruto was on it, restrained but also clearly out of it with sedatives despite his half open eyes. Itachi squeezed his brother’s arm briefly.  
“I’ll see what I can do with the names when both if you are a bit better.” He murmured. The doctor came over.  
“Are you Itachi Uchiha? You’re listed as the medical contact for both of these boys.” The woman asked.  
“I am.” Itachi replied with a nod. The doctor looked at Sasuke.  
“Feeling better, young man?” She asked, ignoring the nurses setting Naruto up with wires and an IV behind her. “Do you mind if I give you a check over?” Itachi was surprised that a the doctor asked, but appreciated it because Sasuke valued his independence and control. He glanced at his brother.

Sasuke seemed fixated on Naruto, dark eyes scanning over every inch of him that he could see to be sure the moron was still in one piece at least. Heart monitors told each heartbeat and breath, and Sasuke became almost entranced watching that, taking it as assurance that his friend was still alive. His mind was still a little clouded, still a little unfocused, but he was fixated on that green line rising and falling across the screen.  
Until he realized he was before spoken to, blinking a little as he returned his attention to the woman before him who must be the doctor. “What?” He asked quietly, and when Itachi repeated the question for him, he shook his head a little. “I don’t mind, but focus on Naruto first.” He was still trying to get a grip on everything after spending three weeks in a drugged coma.

Naruto heard a voice, but couldn’t quite put his finger on why it was so important. He ignored it, preferring to float in safe, warm darkness. Then the voice spoke again, itching under his skin. He had to discover why it was so crucial.  
He gasped as he dragged himself into semi consciousness, light and cold air and pain making him dizzy. He couldn’t move. They were still there. His dreams of hospitals and rescues were just that - dreams. He struggled to get in enough air, hyperventilating as he pulled weakly against the padded cuffs.  
“Sasuke!” He cried, voice cracking from fatigue and the still lingering effects of the drugs. “Sasuke, I’m coming.”

Sasuke’s eyes instantly shot over to where Naruto screamed his name, worry on his features. “Naruto, I’m right here. We’re both safe, Naruto, it’s okay.” He turned pleading eyes to his brother. He couldn’t get out of bed. Seeing the message, Itachi crossed to Naruto and rested a gentle hand on his arm on Sasuke’s behalf. “Naruto, can you hear me?”

Sasuke was close, calling him. He tried to shift toward his voice, but couldn’t move. Then a familiar hand touched him. He clung to it.  
“‘Tachi?” He slurred. “’S that you? Where’s Sasuke?” If Itachi was here, then Sasuke was safe. He strained to open his eyes, but all that met him was bright blurs that hurt his eyes so bad he whimpered. When was the last time he’d had any more light than a single bulb?

“Sasuke is in the bed right beside you,” Itachi assured the blonde softly, rubbing a small circle on that hand with his thumb to help calm the blonde. “You’re both safe, you’re going to be okay.” Honestly, Naruto had become like a second little brother to him in all the years he’d known Sasuke. “You’ll recover side by side. And nothing else is going to happen to you both.” He would do a better job protecting them from now on.

Sasuke was here. Sasuke was safe. They were going to be together. He relaxed, shuddering slightly as his tense muscles relaxed. Then the restraints tugged on his wrists again and he shivered.  
“Get ‘em off, please.” He begged. “I’ll be good, I promise. Please.” He couldn’t stand the feeling of the cuffs holding him down, keeping him still. It felt too much like… There.

Itachi didn’t even hesitate, gently getting the cuffs off Naruto’s wrists. When they were both asleep and unaware, it was necessary. Now, it more harmful than anything. “I’m sorry about that. The two of you were pretty restless, Sasuke accidentally hit a nurse in the face.”  
That caused the younger Uchiha to look up at the doctor in horror. “I did? I’m sorry, the nurse is okay, right? I didn’t mean to…”

Naruto huffed slightly, something that could have been a laugh. The doctor was quick to assure Sasuke that the nurse understood that it wasn’t his fault and that she was fine. But that wasn’t it. Naruto was worried that while he was out of it, the other one came out.  
“Did he hurt someone?” He murmured, squeezing Itachi’s hand. “Did he come out?”

Hearing Naruto say that, Sasuke gasped a little, looking over quickly. “You mean Kurama?” Itachi let out a sigh, a hint of a smile touching at his lips. “Not while you were out, no. You didn’t hurt anyone.” They’d had the restraints on him from the second he got on the ambulance, so he hadn’t had a chance to cause any harm.

Naruto nodded mutely, feeling a dull sense of relief. He felt exhausted and freezing and breathing was still too hard. “Cold.” He said, basically a grunt. “What’s wrong with me?” He hadn’t meant to say that part out loud, but now that it was out there, he needed to know the answer.

“Absolutely nothing.” It was Sasuke who replied now, looking over at his friend seriously. “There’s nothing wrong with you.”

Naruto forced his eyes open, his head flopping over to look at Sasuke. The light burned, but he held strong as they watered.  
“But it hurts to breathe and my head’s all fuzzy and I’m so cold.” Then he realized he was whining. Whining was not allowed. He snapped his mouth shut, shrinking back slightly from the inevitable blow.  
“I’m sorry. I won’t whine anymore, I’m sorry.” He whispered, eyes fixing on the floor.

“I need to know what wrong with you.” Sasuke stated bluntly. “Don’t be afraid to tell me.” He didn’t see it as whining. He was glad that he knew what was wrong so that he could find a way to help. “I think I’m going to go back to sleep right now, though. I’m exhausted and my head still hurts.

“Okay.” He said, feeling slightly calmer now that he’d been forgiven. He shook the arm that Itachi held slightly.  
“Go be with him. He’s your brother. I’m okay.” He desperately needed the hand, needed the connection to the present and sanity it afforded, but Sasuke would always, always come first.

“Sasuke wants me here next to you because he can’t be,” Itachi explained honestly, a soft smile on his lips. He was trying to be assuring. “And you’re like a little brother to me too, you know. You’ve been so good for Sasuke all these years. I’ll stay with you. Besides, Sasuke is going to sleep, which is lame.” He teased slightly, trying to lighten the mood.

“I don’t want to sleep.” Naruto said, struggling to sit up, but only able to make the tendons in his too thin neck pop out. The effort made his chest hurt and he coughed, squeezing his eyes shut to deal with the surge of pain. It eased slightly, but the cold seemed to hold it at a deep ache. Impulsively, he curled closer to Itachi’s hand.  
“I’m so cold. Can I please have another blanket?” He whispered tentatively, half tensed for a punishment for daring to ask.

“I believe there’s one in the cabinet over here,” Itachi replied easily, releasing his grip so he could wander over to the cabinet in question and pull out another blanket. He settled it over Naruto before resting his hand back on the younger’s arm since that seemed to help ease his mind a little. He turned to the doctor who had just finished up with a now sleeping Sasuke completely. “Why is he so cold? Is that normal?”

The doctor nodded.  
“With his heart so weak and his body in shock from the two heart attacks he’s had, feeling overly cold is normal. It’s also helped by his extreme malnutrition.” She explained. Naruto nodded. At last now he understood why. The blanket was warm and the weight of it was comforting, especially in conjunction with Itachi’s hand.  
He fought the comfortable feeling that was stealing over him, knowing that if he was comfortable, he would sleep. He couldn’t sleep. He had to watch Sasuke.  
He shifted, creating a dip in the pillow so his head could rest while he kept an eye on his sleeping friend. He shook himself or coughed painfully every minute or so to keep himself awake. He was failing, the warmth and calm atmosphere and hypnotic beeping lulling him.

Itachi knew full well why Naruto didn’t want to sleep. He also knew that the blonde would give in eventually. As he chatted quietly with the doctor about both boy’s conditions, he began to absently rib his hand along the younger’s arm in a soothing motion.  
Naruto was mentally worse off than Sasuke, but physically, they were both pretty bad. This whole situation was really bad, and Itachi couldn’t help but feel guilty that it had taken so long to find them.  
Sasuke was trying to act tough now that he wasn’t so out of it. The damage was done though, and Itachi had never seen his little brother look so afraid in his life.

The gentle touch on Naruto's arm with its predictable path was soothing. His eyes slowly drooped, his mind slipping into fog as he drifted off.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let me repeat, please be careful. Rereading this has made me realize how many possible triggers there are here.

Of course, the nightmares started immediately. Truth be told, it was closer to sleep paralysis, where his senses were aware but his body was restrained by sleep and heavy.  
The touch on his arm turned to fire, the beeping of the machines turning to screams of terror. He wanted to move, to get away, but could only sit in helpless paralysis as he burned. His lungs just stopped working it seemed, shorting out with terror.

A nurse recommended putting the cuffs back on Naruto’s wrists, but Itachi said it wouldn’t be necessary. He would simply hold Naruto’s hand through all of this. He knew the restraints would only make things worse. He also understood that in his current state, Naruto could cause some kind of harm to the staff. He wouldn’t let that happen.  
All he could do for either of his little brothers at the moment is be the strong support they need. Even though even time he blinked, all he could see were those mutilated bodies decomposing where the boys were found. His parents arrived and sat near Sasuke, his mother holding the boy’s hand while his father rested a hand on her shoulder, stern and unshakable as ever. Sasuke was asleep, but they both uttered whispered promises to do everything they could for him.

Naruto had to move, to somehow break this spell that held him bound. He focused all his conscious energies on just moving his arm, the one that burned the worst from the heavy heat he couldn’t quite name. He willed it to lift, to jerk, to fly straight up, anything but lay still and dead. No luck.  
Then he focused on his eyelids. Maybe if he could open his eyes, the pain would end. He cried out internally when they slowly slid to a half mast. However, he didn’t wake up. Instead, his nightmares spilled over into the world he was taking in with his eyes. Now Itachi was sitting beside him, a dried up corpse. Sasuke in the other bed was all but unrecognizable, starved and scarred and very, very nearly dead. Two wraiths stood over him, waiting to take him away. Naruto vibrated with a paralyzed scream, still unable to move, and now trapped in his worst nightmare come to life. He couldn’t get out. He was trapped.

Itachi had no idea what to do for Naruto, how to help him. The heart monitor was going crazy, it seemed, but it obviously wasn’t enough for a nurse to come rushing in. When Naruto’s eyes opened just that little bit, Itachi was on his feet. “Naruto? Naruto!” He shook the blondes shoulder, trying to wake him up.

The corpse shook him, and he could suddenly move. He gulped in air, screaming at the top of his lungs and slapping his arms to remove the burning. He flailed wildly, batting at the vestiges of his nightmares to break them up. He ran out of air to scream, sucked in another breath and began whimpering. He was running out of energy quickly, but his adrenaline was too high to stop moving. His heart was pumping too fast. It faltered once, twice. It only raised his panic.

“Naruto, deep breaths, everything is okay.” Itachi placed his hands on either side of Naruto’s face, trying to make Naruto focus on him so that he could relax. He felt a little helpless, he didn’t know what to do to help Naruto.

Naruto felt cool hands on his face, and darted his eyes to the source. Itachi was there, alive, whole. He was safe. He struggled to control his breathing, to bring himself under control. “Talk.” He coughed. “Anything. I can’t focus.” He needed to ground himself. He clutched at Itachi’s hands desperately.

Wanting to talk about something Naruto loves, Itachi started babbling as best as he could. He wasn’t always one to talk much, but Naruto needed him. “Did Sasuke ever tell you this one time when he got lost at the mall? He was really young, and we were out with my mom and he noticed something and wandered off. He found a random person and started following her around, this teenage girl he didn’t know. She was nice, held his hand and wandered around the entire mall with him looking for us. He was crying when they found us.”

As Itachi spoke, Naruto focused on the sound of the words. He stared at Itachi’s mouth, matching each minute motion to the sounds. He barely comprehended the meaning of the words, but the hypnotic motion called him. He began counting his breaths, squeezing Itachi’s hand to keep track of his count until his heart and lungs were functioning properly again.  
“Is Sasuke okay?” He asked at the end of the story. He needed to check on the other phantoms of his nightmares.

“Sasuke is okay, yeah. He’s sound asleep and recovering right over there.” Itachi looked over at Sasuke sound asleep in his bed. The raven was breathing softly, looking almost peaceful at the moment, Just like when Naruto had seen him for those three weeks he was in a drugged haze. “He’s a little disoriented still, but I think he’s worried about you.”

Naruto shivered slightly, trying to remind himself that Sasuke was asleep, not drugged. He focused back on Itachi.  
“Who were the two wraiths that were here?” He asked.

Itachi looked a little confused by that question. “I don’t think there were any here,” he explained. “You seemed like you were having some kind of bad dream.” It wasn’t something he knew much about, but if he knew, he would try to understand.

“It’s called sleep paralysis. Basically, my body goes to sleep, but my brain stays awake. My senses keep taking in information. My eyes overlaid my nightmare onto what they were seeing. I saw two ghost things standing over Sasuke, like grim reapers coming to take him away.” He felt choked by the fear attached to that phrase.

“It was just our parents, don’t worry. They’re keeping him company right now.” He nodded to Sasuke once more. Mikoto was still holding his hand and Fugaku had taken a seat as well, currently brushing Sasuke’s hair back from his face. “What can I do to help you with this?” Naruto seemed to know more than he did, after all. It was rare that he didn’t know something, but he was humble enough to admit when he didn’t, unlike his little brother.

“Just try to learn what it looks like when I have one do you can wake me up. I’m not stupid enough to think I can get away with getting excited like that. My heart…” He faltered. “It stopped for a minute and it almost put me too far away to come back. I could have died.” He was hit with the realization that he would probably die young and struggle for every day in the meantime.

The elder raven reached out and took Naruto’s hand in his own again, giving it a squeeze. “We’ll help you through this, though.” He reminded Naruto. His attention was captured when he heard Sasuke cry out, eyes shooting over to where the teen was now awake and trembling like a leaf. Their mother was resting a hand on his cheek, brushing awake his tears and trying to sooth him as he tried to regain his breathing again. “Naruto, I have a question. I know it’ll be hard to answer…”

Naruto jumped badly at the scream, immediately trying to lunge in Sasuke’s direction. He was surprised when he actually made it out of bed. Using his forward momentum, he stumbled to Sasuke’s bed. He rammed hard into the railing, but was able to use it to hold himself up.  
“I’m here Sasuke. We’re out. Your brother and parents are here. We’re safe.” He managed to get one hand off to gently brush Sasuke’s face.

Itachi was surprised when Naruto lurched out of bed, following close behind to be sure he didn’t hurt himself. When Sasuke saw Naruto close to him, he panicked. It was a knee jerk reaction and he tried to sit up. “No- don’t-” The youngest Uchiha coughed over his words and Itachi could recognize the signs of a panic attack. There were too many people near him, and when his father grabbed his shoulders to make him lay back down, everyone was trying to lay a hand on him and he felt trapped, gasping for breath as he begged, “Please, please don’t, please don’t hurt- hurt me.” His pupils were the size of pinpoints, he looked terrified but also like he wasn’t fully aware of where he was and what was going on just yet.

The panic and pain in those words hit Naruto like a punch to the gut. Even though something inside him said he was overreacting, he couldn’t help but feel like Sasuke was specifically afraid of him. It made sense. Naruto had hurt him, tortured him even.  
He let go of the bar of Sasuke’s bed and stumbled backwards, falling to the floor hard without the support. He just lay there, listening to Sasuke scream and realizing that it was his fault. If he hadn’t let Kurama out. If he’d fought against his alter harder. If he’d never been born. He shivered, curling into a ball and hovering his hands near his ears, but not actually covering them. He deserved to listen.

When Naruto fell, Itachi was at his side. Sasuke needed space, and someone had to take care of Naruto. Sasuke wanted it to be him. Still, hearing Sasuke whimper set him on edge and he wanted so badly to do something. He could also say he’d never seen his father so nurturing before, though. The man rested his hands on either side of his youngest child’s face, saying firmly though still softly, “Breathe, Sasuke, breathe. You’re safe, you can relax.” At first, Sasuke tried to pry those hands away, but before long, he was clinging to them like a lifeline, choking on sobs as his father brushed away falling tears with calloused hands.

Naruto relaxed slightly with a shudder as the screams turned to sobs. Of course, he was too weak to hold tension for long and slumped, panting harshly. “I’m sorry Sasuke.” He whispered. “I’m sorry.” He was shaking badly, the chill of the tile floor soaking into his bones.

Itachi easily hefted Naruto up into his arms, carrying the blonde back over to his own bed without much of a struggle. Itachi was a strong man, after all. “Sasuke is going to be okay. He’s still trying to figure out what was real and what’s not real. He’s probably been having tons of hallucinations and bad dreams, give him time to separate them from reality.”

He nodded, understanding. He still would continue to blame the whole thing on himself, but from now on, he wouldn’t let anyone know. They didn’t need to worry about a traitorous torturer like him. He closed his eyes, faking sleep so Itachi would go help Sasuke. As long as Sasuke was cared for, he didn’t care about himself.

Before Naruto could sleep- or pretend to- Itachi spoke up softly, “Naruto, I’ve got a really important question to ask you.” He paused for a moment before coming right out with it: “Was… anything done to Sasuke during the time he was unconscious?” He’d heard enough rumors about that woman and seen her handy work with his own eyes, so he couldn’t discredit the possibility that- … he didn’t want to think about it.

It took Naruto a minute to understand what he was referring to, but once he did, all the color drained from his face. He’d hoped with all his soul to never have to think about that again. But it was to help Sasuke, so even though the heart monitor was picking up at an alarmingly fast rate, he nodded. He couldn’t describe what; even just thinking about it was making him hyperventilate. But if he confirmed their suspicions, they could take care of it.

Itachi let out a low sigh through his teeth at that confirmation, his eyes slipping shut as he tried to get a hold on his temper. It took a lot to work Uchiha Itachi up to such a degree, his composure was incredible. Wherever Sasuke was concerned though? “I’m sorry you had to see that happen. He doesn’t seem to remember for now, perhaps that’s for the best. Did anything else happen those three weeks you might be able to tell me?”

Naruto gulped in air frantically, simultaneously wracking his dark mind for anything at all that could help Sasuke.  
“She fed him by tube twice a day. She gave him water three times a day. She never let him move though. She talked to him a lot and stroked his face. A couple of times she got frustrated and… He stopped, choking and hyperventilating.  
"Sh-sh-she shook him a-a-a-and popped out his shoulder because he h-h-hadn’t b-b-been moved in a while. I p-put it back after she left.” He bit his lip to hold in sobs, not wanting to disturb Sasuke while he was so fragile.  
“I’m sorry.” He panted, feeling his body wash over with guilt. “I should have protected him. I should have fought back. I was just so scared.” He forced himself to hold in the tears, squeezing his eyes shut and biting his lip so hard it bled.

Itachi rested his hand on Naruto’s shoulder, trying to soothe his little brother’s best friend as best as he could. Hearing all that had been done to Sasuke in those three weeks made him wish he’d spent more time hurting that woman before knocking her out - and Uchiha Itachi had always been very against hitting women. “You did the best you could for him. No one blames you for what happened. If you had fought back, it would have only made things worse and it might have been to late when we arrived. And once the both of you are out of here, we’re going to get you proper mental help so everything can go back to normal again, okay?”

Naruto didn’t know if there was a normal for him anymore. He felt like everything in him was smashed, like he’d been spun of glass and now that it was shattered, the only thing in him was sharp daggers. He shook his head slowly.  
“I don’t think I want to.” He admitted, softly and slowly. “I think I want Sasuke to never have to be afraid that his best friend is going to stab him. I’m not necessary. And it hurts a lot to be alive.” He was barely speaking above a whisper now.

Itachi’s heart stopped in his chest at those soft, hesitant words. They tore him apart inside and he felt like he was failing his little brother, both of them. “I know right now it seems pretty grim and hopeless,” he remarked at last. “I know you’re a lot stronger than this, though. And you don’t understand how much Sasuke needs you. If you won’t keep going for yourself, do it for him.”

Naruto looked at Itachi, scrutinizing him for any sign that he was just saying that. That it was just a cop ruse to get him to stop thinking like that. But, as usual, Itachi looked completely sincere. He sighed, slumping into the bed as a gesture of defeat.  
“For Sasuke.” He whispered. “I can try for Sasuke.” Then he closed his eyes, laboriously turning over so his back was to Itachi. He was tired, bone achingly so.

Itachi remained by Naruto’s side until he was sure the blonde had fallen asleep. He took that chance to wander back over to Sasuke was now calm once again, trying to ask if he could have a cup of water. He also kept glancing over at Naruto as if he had entirely no idea what to make of his best friend at the moment. He felt like he should be upset about what happened, but he just wasn’t. “I feel like I’m losing my mind,” he commented to his parents softly. “I can barely tell the difference between what’s real and what’s just a hallucination. I’m not used to feeling so out of control.” Sasuke was normally a master at controlling his emotions- it ran in his blood, the Uchiha family was known for it. At the moment, though, Sasuke felt like he was falling apart at the seams. “I can’t trust my own mind…”

Itachi hesitantly held out a hand, asking silent permission to touch his traumatized brother.  
“Naruto told me some things that happened and we got the toxicology reports on your blood. If you can, can you tell me what you remember and I’ll see if it matches up with Naruto’s story? We can at least figure out what’s real and what’s not.” He watched his brother, using every drop of training he had to stay calm and attentive to Sasuke’s needs. He wanted nothing more than to scoop him up and cradle him until the nightmares went away, like when they were children. That much contact would most likely make Sasuke panic however, so he held his ground.

Sasuke’s smaller hand met Itachi’s half way, clinging to it like a lifeline. He felt like all these things were starting to come back to him now that he was a little more coherent, but some of the things he recalled also seemed too far fetched to have actually occurred, making him question anything and everything he thought he remembered. “Most of it is blurry. Every time I would start to wake up, someone would stick something in my arm and the world would be dark again. I remember one time I opened my eyes and saw a bunch of bodies crawling toward me.” Likely his subconscious trying to make him more aware of the other children in that room. “I remember a sharp pain in my shoulder- it was different than when I was pricked by the needle. When I opened my eyes, I never saw Naruto. I felt so alone and I just wanted to sleep until he was back again. And there was always this voice. She would talk to me but I never really knew what she was saying. I remember she called me Kiro, though. I just heard that name over and over. Kiro, Kiro, Kiro- … Was that her son’s name?”

Itachi nodded.  
“Kiro was her son. As for the other pieces, she kept you drugged while she trained Naruto. There were other children there, but they were very dead and would not have been able to approach you.” He got a glare from his mother at his blunt use of the word “dead”. He ignored her. Sasuke would appreciate that he didn’t sugarcoat it.  
“She spoke to you a lot, but sometimes got frustrated and once dislocated your shoulder. Does that help clear things up?” He’d been holding Sasuke’s hand the whole time, rubbing the knuckles gently with his thumb.

A shaky breath escaped Sasuke as his brother spoke, but he appreciated the honesty. “It helps a little, yeah.” He didn’t feel as crazy. That voice he’d been hearing wasn’t him losing his mind. “I don’t understand why she would get frustrated with me, though. I… I wasn’t doing anything. That was the way she wanted it.” He was silent for a moment before holding tighter to Itachi’s hand. “Is it odd that I feel… Almost guilty for having survived? I mean… Twelve children, and Naruto and I got to live… Why? What makes our lives more important than those others?”

Itachi sighed, squeezing his brother’s hand gently.  
“It’s actually very normal. It’s called survivor’s guilt. You survived a traumatic experience and now you feel like there should have been a way for more people to be saved. It wasn’t that you were special. It was simply that you were the ones who happened to be taken at the time we solved the case. She didn’t take a new pair till the other one died. There was no way to save them.” Unless you’d found them earlier, his guilty conscience reminded him. He ignored it.  
“But yes, it isn’t odd. And you’re only more important to those who know you. You’re important to me.” He smiled softly at his brother, squeezing his hand to try to convey his emotions.

“I think I remember something else, Aniki,” Sasuke commented quietly, his eyes focused on their joined hands for a moment of silence before he remarked, “She changed my clothes. I know I wasn’t wearing a shirt most of the time, but I’m pretty sure she’d took off my pants at some point, too, and changed them.”  
Itachi stiffened. He’d hoped Sasuke wouldn’t remember anything related to that. He took a deep breath. He’d promised not to lie, but he didn’t think Sasuke would take it well. He’d have to find a middle ground. “Your pants got dirty when she got frustrated probably. So she changed them. She was a mother, so it isn’t that strange that she would change a kid’s pants comfortably.” He said, keeping his voice steady. If Sasuke didn’t remember that ever, he’d be perfectly happy.

“Yeah, that makes sense… I can’t imagine I made many trips to the bathroom or anything,” Sasuke added a little thoughtfully. If he was being kept alive he was being given food and water, so he must have had to use the bathroom. “I still don’t understand why she got so frustrated with me though. Perhaps she just wanted to take her anger at her son out on me.”

“She was very sick. She was obsessed and you became a substitute for her son. She was frustrated because she knew you weren’t. It was just her. You did nothing wrong.” He said, relieved that Sasuke had taken that answer. “You need to eat and rest. The drug should be out of your blood. Do you think you can eat?” He asked.

Sasuke looked lost in thought for a moment before his brother’s voice spoke of food. “I’m hungry, I’d like to try and eat.” He didn’t know how it would go, though.

Itachi’s father stood, touching his son’s forehead gently before leaving to get the food. Itachi turned back to Sasuke.  
“Any other questions?” He asked, wanting to ease Sasuke’s mind as much as possible. Out of older brother instinct, he also glanced over at Naruto, double checking his other brother’s condition. Still asleep, heart rate still steady. He turned back to Sasuke.

Sasuke wasn’t used to his father being so affectionate. The man wasn’t cruel, per day, but he’d never been so openly loving before. He was a stern man, one who wanted the best for his children. “… Is Naruto going to be alright? Does he know I don’t blame him?”

“Naruto is… Very weak. His heart was badly damaged and he wasn’t fed as well as you, which is saying something since you’ve lost a lot of weight.” He sighed.  
“He’s struggling with his guilt. The doctor is nearly convinced that he has a separate personality and that he has little awareness and no control over what that personality does. But he still blames himself. When you panicked earlier, he tried to comfort you and you panicked more so he thinks that even if you don’t blame him, you’re scared of him.” He squeezed his brother’s hand.  
“It’s not your fault or his. Next time you’re both awake, we can talk this out.” He hoped that put his brother’s mind at ease.

A deep frown was on Sasuke’s lips, eyes slipping to his lap. He wished he didn’t feel like he was losing his mind so much. “It wasn’t just him, everyone was just so close to me, I felt trapped.” His hand in Itachi’s trembled a little at the thought of that utter panic. He tried to keep tears from burning his eyes with little success. “I’m not afraid of him. Every time I opened my eyes, I just wanted him with me so I wasn’t alone anymore.”

“Well he’s here now. You aren’t alone.” He stood, carefully maneuvering the machines and Naruto’s bed so the two boy’s beds were side by side with just enough room between for a nurse to walk. “I’m not supposed to do that, but I’ll fight them tooth and nail if they try to put him back.” The boy hadn’t stirred, too worn out to wake up. “Besides, how am I supposed to keep an eye on both of you if you’re so far apart?”

Sasuke’s teary eyes lit up as Itachi pushed Naruto closer to him, honestly looking relieved to have the blonde within his reach. Weakly, he moved his hand to rest it on top of Naruto’s. One night almost find themselves under the impression that there’s something deeper than friendship between the two, but that was just how Sasuke was. He cared for very few, but those who earned his friendship, he was a hundred percent devoted to, no matter what. “I never took you for a rebellious rule breaker, Aniki,” Sasuke remarked softly.

“This is for a good cause. The rule was stupid in the first place.” He said calmly. He could already see lines of tension easing from both boys faces. “Sleep. I’ll watch over you both.” He said, slowly reaching forward to pat Sasuke’s head, watching him to make sure it was okay.

Sasuke gave Naruto’s hand a squeeze, a hint of a smile crossing his lips. “I’ll sleep again once father brings that food back. Aniki, do you think I might be able to get some sleep meds once I get out of here? I think it might help me sleep without having so many bad dreams.”

Itachi considered.  
“I don’t see why not, but then I’m not a doctor. We’ll ask one soon okay?” Just then his father walked back in, carrying a thermos of soup and a water bottle as well as a package of crackers.  
“Nothing too heavy.” He said, handing them to Itachi without a word about the moved bed. Itachi turned to Sasuke, hitting the button on the floor to sit up the bed.  
“Let’s start slow and see how it sits, okay? If you feel nauseous, let me know.” He turned the table on its pivot to sit in front of Sasuke, then poured some soup into the lid and handed him a spoon.

Sasuke hadn’t eaten well in what felt like forever. At the same time, though, it felt like hours. He’d been gone three weeks, but time had lost all meaning before long. Every time he’d woken up felt like minutes had passed, but at times, it had been days.  
So he did as Itachi said and took it slow. He spooned the soup into his mouth- it was tomato, his favorite. He was almost surprised his father had known, the man always seemed to take my interest in Itachi. It wasn’t amazing, but it was edible. As he took slow and steady sips of soup, he kept glancing at Naruto as if making sure he was still alright. “Did Naruto tell you about anything else that happened in there, Aniki? How the heck did she manage to keep me alive for three whole weeks?”

“She fed you mostly through a tube, straight to your stomach. Your throat might be a bit swollen and sore from that. She used a pressure point to stimulate your swallow reflex so you could get water and stretched your limbs so they wouldn’t atrophy too badly. That being said, you were dehydrated, malnourished and weakened.” He said, pleased that Sasuke was eating so well. “How’s that sitting? Feeling sick at all?”

“I think that’s enough,” Sasuke mumbled after about the fourth spoonful, placing his spoon down as he cringed a little, looking like he was about to throw up. He swallowed against the nausea, holding a hand over his mouth. His eyes shut tight, but he was determined to keep that soup down. Something, anything. He needed to take care of himself a little, and if he couldn’t even eat, he would have to rely on Itachi.

Itachi immediately grabbed a bucket they’d left for exactly this purpose. Holding it under his brother’s face, he braced his brother carefully with an arm. "It’s okay Sasuke. They said it was a bit early yet, but you wanted to try so they let you. Better out than in if it’s making you sick.” He was trying not to throw up himself at how thin his brother was, at the way his ribs and shoulder blades dug into his arm. “I’ve got you, its okay.” He said.

The raven’s emaciated frame was trembling a little, his eyes watering beyond his control. In the end, he lost the battle to keep the food down. Bile burned his sore throat and once it was over, a small whimper of pain escaped him as he held his throat now. He coughed a little, feeling completely out of strength now. He felt his father rest a hand on the back of his head, trying to help sooth him while his mother handed Itachi a tissue and a cup of water.

“It’s okay, Sasuke. Here, rinse your mouth.” He carefully put the cup to his mouth, helping him sip it slowly. Then he handed him the tissue. “It’s okay. At least you tried. Is your throat hurting now?” He was trying to stay calm, but it hurt a lot to watch his brother in pain.

“It hurts,” he mumbled, seeming a little out of it as he took a sip of the water, swished it around his mouth a little before spitting it into the bucket, too. Fugaku took the bucket from his eldest then so it could be washed. He couldn’t stop shaking, clinging to Itachi as if that would help him any.

Itachi held him back, rocking slightly and rubbing his back in slow, soothing circles. He could see the cloudiness in his eyes, see that he was slipping back to… Somewhere else. “Ssh ssh, its okay. I’ve got you. You’re safe, Sasuke. It’s okay.” He said, keeping his voice low and soothing. “Talk to me. What are you thinking? Even if it doesn’t make sense, tell me.” He wanted desperately to know what to do to help.

“I almost choked,” Sasuke mumbled. He wasn’t usually one to talk a bunch, bit when Itachi told him to, he did. “I don’t know what on, food, water, something. I almost choked and she got really mad. That’s when my shoulder popped. She shook me really hard and screamed at me for scaring her. Then she started to cry. She held me and cried and then I fell back asleep.”

Itachi felt a surge of absolute fury. That was it. The woman was dead. Law or not, her days were numbered. He calmed himself with a couple of deep breaths, his resolve hardening and settling off to one side. “I’m so sorry Sasuke. She had no right or reason to do that.” He gave his brother a gentle squeeze, tucking the raven head beneath his chin. “Is there anything I can do?” He whispered helplessly.

“I don’t even know if it was real,” Sasuke mumbled almost to himself, relaxing a little with Itachi’s protective arms around him. His older brother had always been like a safe haven for him, after all. “I feel like it was, but it’s so fuzzy.” He couldn’t trust his own mind, and that was one of the hardest parts. When Itachi asked if there was anything oh no he could do, Sasuke was at a loss. “Make her pay.”

“It was real. Naruto said something similar.” He said, going to reassure his brother. “And don’t worry. She will.” He felt shaky with rage and hurt for his brother. He realized abruptly that he hadn’t eaten in over forty eight hours, basically since they’d gotten the lead. He ignored his shaky hunger and leaned slowly back with Sasuke in his arms. “I’ll keep the monsters away while you sleep.” He whispered. “Rest.” He drew the blankets up, knowing Sasuke would be cold since he was so thin.

Sasuke was still shaking as he was laid down, be that from cold or fear it was difficult to tell, but he didn’t bother to fight. Curled up in his brother’s arms, Sasuke fell asleep pretty quickly. After looking to be sure both teens were asleep, Fugaku spoke quietly to his eldest, “You know they’ll both have to testify. Especially Naruto, since he knows the most about what happened. The defense will try and claim Sasuke’s testimony as being not credible since he was under the influence of those drugs.”

He nodded slightly, frown increasing. “Is there a way to use written testimony?” He whispered, trusting his father’s greater knowledge of law. If they could keep the boys in a safe, comfortable environment, maybe they wouldn’t suffer so much from the remembrance. He pet Sasuke’s hair in long, rhythmic strokes, gaining comfort from his steady breaths.

Fugaku shook his head a little, a heavy sigh escaping him. “Unfortunately not, since a written statement can not be cross examined.” The elder Uchiha explained reluctantly. “It’ll be hard for both boys, but they’ll be tougher on Sasuke because, as I said, they’ll try to prove he isn’t a credible witness.”

“And that’s why we need both of them and as soon as possible.” He breathed, putting the pieces together. He didn’t like the image they created. He pulled Sasuke slightly closer, as though to protect him.  
“How soon are they going to try to make then go through this?” He asked, resignation lighting a resolution to help them prepare as much as possible before then, as well as fight to hold it off if he didn’t think they were ready.

The chief of police rubbed his forehead a little, a tired sigh escaping him as he shook his head a little. “I’m not completely sure, honestly. A few months at the least, I’d say. It takes time to build a case like this. I’m still in the process of trying to contact all those kids parents.” It was obvious he’d started and hadn’t been able to stomach finishing. He would probably end up speaking to the rest in person, because for whatever reason, it seemed easier. “Most of them still haven’t even been identified.” They were so mutilated. “And we need to search the room for definitive proof she committed these acts- the jury will want forensic proof and not just eyewitness testimony.”

“If they don’t find definitive proof in ten seconds, fire them.” He said quietly. “That whole room is proof.” He set his jaw at the memories. Finally though, he nodded. “You and Okaa-san bed rest. Take her home for me, please?” He asked, glancing fondly at his mother. He wouldn’t leave the boys, but his mother still deserved care. “I’ll update you if anything changes.” He added.

“It shouldn’t be hard, from what I understand, there’s a video camera.” And guess who was going to have to comb through hours upon hours of footage? He was going to have to spend days watching helpless children screaming and crying for help and know that he did nothing about it. The worst part was, though, the fact that if those children had died at each others hands, she couldn’t be directly charged with their murders. Ten counts of assisting murder along with twelve accounts of kidnapping would be enough to put her behind bars for life, but she would only get the death penalty is it was her own hand by which any of these children died.  
“I’ve got to get back to work, actually,” his father announced. “You need to rest, too, Itachi, don’t forget. And neither of us have eaten in some time. I got the crackers for you, please eat them.”

He nodded, kissing his mother’s cheek when she came over to say goodbye. He watched them leave, then checked over on Naruto. Still asleep. Sasuke seemed comfortable as well, still clutched to his chest. All was well for now. Itachi allowed himself to doze, the steady, gentle pattern of his brothers’ breaths his lullaby.


	4. Chapter 4

The next few weeks saw little sleep for the chief of police. Press conferences about what happened, alerting the families of the other children in that room that they’d finally found their missing children. Never had that part of his job been so tough, but with each call, he just kept imagining what would have happened if Sasuke had died at that woman’s hands, too.  
His boy was recovering, though. And any number of people were accusing him of not really trying until it involved his own child. It wasn’t true, but people would believe what they wanted. He attended as many of those children’s funerals as he was allowed. This was almost Sasuke, he thought without fail every chance he got. I almost failed my son.  
The two boys recovered side by side, Itachi helping them both along the way. They were both starting to eat again. Each still had crippling nightmares, but they were starting to cope. Sasuke asked Naruto questions all the time about things he thought he recalled but he wasn’t sure. Naruto tired to help his best friend sort out what he recalled. To that day, he hadn’t remembered what was done to him and Naruto didn’t mention it.  
They’d finally gained enough strength to be released from the hospital. Naruto would need to return for regular check ups, for Sasuke it was more a matter of keeping him fed and changing his badges, so he wouldn’t need to return unless his condition got worse again.  
Sasuke was in a wheelchair, but Naruto was able to stand on his own. Sasuke had spent so long in that drugged haze, he would need to go through a bit of physical therapy before he could completely function again. “It’ll be nice to finally be free,” the younger Uchiha remarked. He’d always hated sitting still for too long, he got restless like that.

Naruto nodded. As time had passed in the hospital, he’d started talking less and less, inserting facial expressions or gestures whenever possible. He fiddled with his fancy watch, the one that connected to the strap under his shirt with the device that tracked his heart rate.  
A nurse came over, double checking the papers.  
“All right. Looks like you boys are ready to go.” She handed a folder of instructions to Itachi. “Follow those carefully now.” She warned. Then she smiled. “Have a nice day and get better, okay?” Naruto ignored her, immediately taking Sasuke’s wheelchair and pushing it out. He knew his friend wanted the fresh air and sunshine badly.

Sasuke figured that Naruto would start being more like himself once they weren’t cooped up in the hospital anymore. He was being so patient, and now it was finally time to get out. He was definitely anxious to see the sun again, it felt like an eternity.  
Itachi took a quick look through the folder to make sure he understood everything before following after where Naruto had wheeled Sasuke already. Some people from the press had wanted to be there when the boys first got out, but Itachi refused to tell them the release date, so there shouldn’t be anyone there to worry about. “Let’s get you boys home where you belong.” He rested a hand to Naruto’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

Naruto nodded, face growing tense with the mention of home. Home was an empty apartment, cupboards stocked with ramen because it was all he could afford to buy. Home was the sound of Latino tv blasting at three in the morning because his neighbors were crazy. Home was hell. But he put on a brave smile and followed Itachi to the car.  
He was seriously out of breath when they reached it and his watch blared a warning that his heart rate was too high. He leaned against the car, breathing slowly as the number on his watch slowly ticked down. Finally, it was safe again. He set his jaw, annoyed at his weakness.

Both Sasuke and Itachi pretended not to notice Naruto’s weakness, they figured he would like it better that way, chattering about the upcoming trial while Naruto caught his breath. The younger Uchiha was taking great interest in it, had even been thinking that he’d like to go into a field like forensic science. He’d babbled about it to Naruto for a little while. It too a minute to get Sasuke situated within the car, Itachi having to help him along before getting his wheelchair into the trunk. Once Naruto slipped in as well, Sasuke popped the question, “So, would you want to stay in my room like when you normally sleep over, or one of the guest rooms?”

Naruto blinked, mouth dropping open. He was confused. Sasuke was going home with Itachi, not Naruto. He moved his hands, at first thinking he’d point to himself, then that he would shrug, but his hands were just as confused as his brain. Finally, he just stared at Sasuke in complete bewilderment.

Sasuke looked back at Naruto equally confused- confused by the others confusion. “You’re staying at my house, aren’t you? You can’t go home and be alone.” He had figured it went without saying, but obviously Naruto had found himself under the impression that Itachi would actually drop him off where he’d be all alone.

Naruto was competently blown away. They were letting him stay, even after what happened last time. He gave his friend a watery smile, sniffing slightly.  
“Your room.” He whispered, doubling the number of words he’d said in the last three days. He leaned over slowly, wanting to lean on Sasuke, to cuddle with him, but not sure how he would react. He watched his friend carefully, waiting for permission even though he shook with the tension of holding himself at that angle.

A hint of a smile crossed Sasuke’s lips. His normal walls weren’t up, he was still exhausted and weary, so he gave his smiles a little more freely lately. An arm wrapped itself around his best friend, pulling him closer at the obvious hesitance. “My room it is.” He agreed easily.  
A lot of his nightmares still involved images of his best friend among others trying to hurt him, but Sasuke knew it wasn’t really Naruto. In a way, his original decision that Kurama was someone who had stolen Naruto’s face created enough of a disconnect to allow him not to blame Naruto for what happened. “It’ll be like a non-stop sleepover.”

Naruto cuddled close, sighing at his friend’s warmth. He was often under-oxygenated now and it made him almost perpetually cold. He nodded happily at the mention of a non-stop sleepover. He was sleepy though, easily tired by how hard his heart worked and he nodded off there in Sasuke’s lap.

Itachi kept glancing in the mirror at his little brother and he couldn’t help feeling proud at how Sasuke was trying to take care of Naruto so well. He knew Sasuke was terrified of everything at the moment, the nightmares were getting to him. Soon enough, he would be given sleeping meds so he could sleep without them. Itachi believed that would be the key to his recovery.

Naruto’s nightmares slunk around the edges of his consciousness, as though testing if he would fight tonight. He shrugged, laying down and baring his throat. He never fought. He deserved them. They pounced, sinking ice cold teeth into any part of him they could find.  
The pop of Sasuke’s shoulder.  
The dreams that stopped his heart.  
The feeling of hot blood.  
Liking the hot blood.  
Monster.  
Murderer.  
Tormentor.  
He drank it in, the fear and guilt the only punishment he could give himself. He shook with it, the burning reminding him that he would never be cleansed, that Sasuke would never fully be the same. Because of him. He cried silent tears, the pain his only companion.

Those tears soaked through his jeans at first before Sasuke began brushing them away. He didn’t know how else he could make clear that he didn’t blame Naruto for and of this. He was anxious and restless, but that was a natural response to having been so close to dying at the hands of some crazy woman. He wished he could chase away Naruto’s nightmares, all his guilt, but his own dark thoughts were still kicking his ass, so it wasn’t easy.

Naruto awoke with Sasuke’s touch. He didn’t move at first, but then he sat up, scooting away from Sasuke. He didn’t deserve cuddles. He didn’t deserve comfort. He looked out the window listlessly, recognizing that they were only a few minutes away. He wanted desperately to be held again, but restrained himself. He met Itachi’s eyes in the rearview mirror and knew the man saw his struggle. He looked away, full of self hatred.

And then Naruto drew away from him, and Sasuke’s heart dropped to his stomach. His hand was frozen where it was as he watched his best friend turn his back on him and it caused a certain amount of panic. He was terrified of being left alone again, but more than anything, he felt helpless. No matter what he did, none of it helped Naruto. A shaky breath escaped him as he buried his face is his hands and focused on his breathing. Keep it together, Sasuke repeated in his mind over and over, but he’d barely gotten any actual sleep the last few days, and it wasn’t helping his emotional state.  
Keep it together.  
Keep it together.  
You’re not doing anyone any good if you fall apart. You’ve got to be strong. Keep it together. Naruto pulled away because he’s weak, and why would Naruto want to be near someone so worthless?

Naruto heard his friend’s breathing hitch and immediately turned. Sasuke’s face was buried in his hands. He moved back to his side, gingerly touching his shoulder. He pulled him close, ready to pull back if Sasuke panicked.  
“Sorry.” He whispered. “Sorry.” He wanted to help his friend, but he didn’t know how.

If Sasuke noticed that touch at first, he didn’t acknowledge it. He was shaking now, tears falling through his fingers and onto his lap even as he mumbled to himself, “I’m okay, it’s okay. Everything is going to be okay. It’s okay, I’m okay.” Maybe if he repeated it enough, it would be true. He didn’t want to accept the fact that his entire world had crumbled around him, that the life he’d known was completely over. “I’m going to be okay. We’re going to be okay. It’s okay.”

Naruto pulled him close, rocking him gently and petting his hair. He hummed, low in his chest, a slow and lilting lullaby his mother had sung to him.  
Come back. He thought desperately. Come back. He signaled to Itachi that something was wrong and Itachi immediately pulled over. Sasuke didn’t need him. He needed his brother. Itachi climbed into the back, taking Sasuke from Naruto and pulling him into his arms.  
“Ssh, Otouto. It’s okay.” He soothed. Naruto curled up in the farthest corner and watched, ready to move if needed, but out of the way die the time being.

When Itachi stopped the car, Sasuke finally looked up, eyes wide as if in a state of shock. Then Itachi tried to pull him closer and he drew away as much as possible in the small space of the back seat. “N- no, I’m fine, I’m okay, everything is okay.” He was clinging to those words, he needed them to be true.  
Itachi gently cupped his brother’s face to make Sasuke look him in the eyes. “Sasuke, you’re not fine. It’s okay, you went through something really horrible.” Those words caused fresh tears to fall down his cheeks, though. “I need to be fine, though.” He choked out, and finally allowed his brother to pull him close again.

Naruto watched, a soft smile on his lips. Itachi was who he needed. Not Naruto. Him staying over was going to be more of a harm than a help. Quietly, glad this was a new car, he opened the door and slipped out of the car, walking towards his apartment. They didn’t need him around. He was out of breath and dizzy within a block, leaning against an alley wall and trying to get his heart rate down. He slid down the wall and put a hand to his chest, panting hard.

Sasuke noticed that door opened and instantly panicked. He was crying, Naruto didn’t want to be around someone so weak and pathetic. Worthless, he was worthless and Naruto was taking the first chance he had to get away. “Naruto,” He whispered the name in horror and Itachi looked to see he’d slipped out. “I’ll go get him back,” Itachi assured his little brother, patting his head before slipping out the same way Naruto had to go after him.  
Sasuke wasn’t having that, though, opening up his own door, trying to slip out in his own. He used the car for support, struggling to the end of it before he ran out of things to hold on to and simply collapsed to the ground. His muscles were still too weak for walking, he’d been unconscious for so long. Still, he couldn’t be weak, he had to go after Naruto, so he started trying to drag himself along the ground to get to where Itachi had followed Naruto.  
Not noticing his little brother trying to escape, Itachi rested a hand to Naruto’s shoulder when he caught up, “Naruto, where are you going?”

“My apartment.” He panted. “Sasuke needs you, not me. I’m just a reminder.” He snapped his mouth shut, hating the way his voice sounded. It sounded like Kurama’s, rough and full of hatred. He might hate himself and not Sasuke, but it was still hate. He looked away, back down where Itachi had come from.  
Sasuke was crawling along the ground toward them. Naruto’s eyes widened and he pointed, frantically dragging himself to his feet and stumbling towards his friend. Itachi was faster. He got there first and Naruto stopped, standing in the middle of the alley swaying.

“He doesn’t just need me, Naruto. He needs both of us. You’re a reminder, yes, a reminder that everything that happened to him is real. You’re the thing that grounds him in the present and makes him realize he isn’t going this all alone. He wants everything to be okay so badly, I need your help to show him it can be.” And then Naruto started to point, and Itachi’s heart dropped. He took off running to try and stop his little brother from going any father, but it’d seemed as if he’d run out of strength already. He was panting heavily, eyes only half open as the world around him was swirling. “Naruto, don’t go. Don’t go away. It’s okay, I’m okay,” he needed it to be true so badly.

Naruto started forward again at the sound of his name, falling to his knees on the ground by Sasuke and pulling him into his arms. “I’ll stay.” He whispered. “I’m sorry. I’ll stay.” He winced at the sound of his own voice, flinching slightly, but he held on. Itachi just picked up both emaciated boys and carried them back to the car. “Let’s go home.” He said, starting the car and getting moving again.

Sasuke’s hand curled into Naruto’s shirt. He wanted to cling to him so badly, but that was all the strength he had in his body at the moment. It was a good thing Itachi was really strong, had to be for his work on the force, and lifting both boys up and got then where they belonged. Sasuke was exhausted from trying to move so much, and ended up fast asleep by the time they arrived at him again, resting against Naruto’s chest as he recovered from the overexertion.

Naruto dozed as soon as Sasuke fell asleep, hand methodically running through Sasuke’s hair. He felt the car stop and immediately opened his eyes, seeing the Uchiha house with mixed feelings. The safety of home had been violated by that woman, but he still couldn’t forget the happy memories he had here and how it felt so much more homey than his apartment.  
Itachi opened the door and carefully lifted Sasuke, only to widen his eyes.  
“He’s bleeding.” He looked at Naruto. “You’re bleeding.” Naruto looked at his knees, where Itachi’s eyes were focused. He shrugged, nodding. He hadn’t noticed at all. He looked at Sasuke, more concerned about him.

Sasuke was still asleep when he was lifted out of the car, the others noticing the bleeding he just hadn’t. Itachi placed himself in his wheelchair before helping Naruto out as well. “There must have been some broken glass in that ally or something,” He mumbled, knowing they would have medical kits inside. But Sasuke had already lost a lot of blood in that room, he shouldn’t lose much more. Time was of the essence, maybe his mother was home so they could tend to both boys at once?

Naruto grabbed into Sasuke’s sleeve, unwilling to be separated from him. His forehead creased with worry, but despite Itachi’s fear, he’d seen Sasuke bleed enough times to know he was safe enough for the time being. It looked like a lot more blood than it was because it had smeared and Naruto’s was mixed with it.  
Actually, Sasuke’s low weight had saved him, not pressing any glass in too far. Still, Naruto was worried and followed them both into the house. He ran for the first aid kit, bringing it to Itachi. He was out of breath, but the carpet was soft enough so he just lay down on it.

Itachi got Sasuke settled in the living room, not wanting to try and get the wheelchair up the stairs with his brother covered in glass. He remained asleep during the process, but Itachi rolled up his shirt and began pulling pieces of glass from his skin. “Reckless little brother,” he muttered as he worked carefully, trying to make sure he’d gotten it all.

Naruto watched, sitting up slowly once his breathing was under control. He handed Itachi tools as he needed them with his right hand while his left clung to Sasuke’s sleeve. He hoped Sasuke would stay asleep through the whole procedure.

If Sasuke woke up, it would likely be in a panic. He would think he was back in that room and probably hurt himself trying to get away. So Itachi was hoping the same thing as he wrapped by the wounds as nearly as possible. Then he turned to Naruto. “Have a seat, you’re next.”

Naruto hesitated. The nearest seat was out of range of Sasuke. He looked from the couch to Sasuke and back a few times, torn. Then looked at Itachi pleadingly. Both of his hands were clutching Sasuke’s sleeve now, working out his fear while he focused on keeping his breathing even.

“Here works, too,” Itachi declared easily, seeing Naruto’s hesitation to move away from his brother. So he just tended to Naruto in the floor in front of the couch where Sasuke was laying so neither of them would be too far.

Naruto barely noticed the sting of Itachi tending his wounds. He just watched Sasuke carefully for any signs of discomfort and shivered. He’d have to get used to being cold. Once Itachi was done, he wrapped himself around Sasuke’s arm, curling up to conserve heat. He closed his eyes, trusting his ears to alert him to any of Sasuke’s needs.

Noticing both boys shivering slightly, Itachi grabbed them each a blanket, resting one over his little brother and wrapping the other around Naruto’s shoulder. That was when Sasuke’s eyes flickered open slightly, blinking a few times as he tried to figure out where they were. Seeing this, Itachi gave his otouto a soft smile. “We’re home, otouto. You can go back to sleep, you’re safe.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mention of Rape

Naruto awoke briefly when Sasuke did, but fell back asleep when his friend did. He didn’t awake until evening, when the sunset shot a beam of amber straight into his eyes. He groaned, burying his face into Sasuke’s shoulder.

Sasuke opened his eyes again when Naruto groaned. Itachi wasn’t in the room anymore, he’d wandered off shortly before to find himself something to eat and talk to his father more about the case. Sasuke was taking interest in it and he wanted to have all the information he could for his little brother.

Naruto was stiff and sore, chest sore. He rolled over slowly, coughing. He was thirsty. He looked at Sasuke, taking his hand. He squeezed it to get his attention. “Okay?” He asked, raising an eyebrow while he surveyed him.

“It’s okay, I’m okay,” Sasuke almost seemed to speak those words out of instinct, before he even realized he was saying them. Then he squeezed his friend’s hand back. “Where’s Aniki?”

Naruto sat up slightly, or tried, but was forced to lay back down by a sharp pain in his chest. Still, he hadn’t seen or heard Itachi. He shrugged, looking at Sasuke. He focused on his friend while he tried to breathe through the pain. “Study?” He guessed, knowing that was often where Itachi and Fugaku worked on cases.

Sasuke looked around the house. He remembered his brother’s voice telling him he was safe. “Naruto, did Itachi come and save us from that lady?” He knew he’d wanted that to happen so badly, but he wasn’t sure if he’d imagined it or not.

Naruto blinked, unsure of why he was asking. Then he remembered Sasuke’s constant confusion on what happened in that basement. He met his friend’s gaze, nodding carefully.  
“Itachi-nii and Shisui.” He said. “We’re home. We’re safe.” He squeezed his hand.

“I thought it was them. Obviously someone saved us, but I didn’t know if I wanted Itachi there so badly that my mind tricked me into thinking it was him.” Sasuke explained softly, his eyes focusing on nothing in particular. The talking drew his mother’s attention, the woman poking her head into the room with a soft smile.   
“Can I get you boys anything?” It hurt to see her baby so hurt, but she was trying to stay positive and happy for her son. When Sasuke claimed they could each use some water, Mikoto nodded and swiftly left to go get it for them.

Naruto couldn’t help his flinch at the woman’s voice, her long hair. He knew it was Sasuke’s mother and not that monster, but there was still enough similarity that he was immediately on edge. When she brought the water, he scooted back as she approached, watching her warily. He refused to take the water from her. She was visibly hurt, but smiled kindly and left it on the coffee table. When she left, he moved forward and drank it, not having realized until he did how thirsty he was.

Sasuke observed how Naruto wouldn’t take the water from his mother with a small frown on his lips. He could tell this refusal hurt the woman, which made him tempted to say something. Once she left, as they each sipped on their water, Sasuke tried to figure out exactly why Naruto was being so odd.  
In the kitchen, out of sight of the boys, Mikoto couldn’t keep a tear or two from escaping, silently falling down her cheeks as she leaned against the counter. Her babies were afraid of her…

Naruto felt horrid, internally beating himself up for his fear. Externally, he curled into a ball under Sasuke’s gaze. The water he’d drunk threatened to come back up at the remembrance of the hurt in her eyes.  
“Sorry.” He whispered, digging his fingernails into his arm as the guilt overwhelmed him. Then he chuckled darkly.  
“I guess I’m just too good at hurting Uchihas.” He crawled into the dim, small space between the couch and the wall, turning his back to the world and allowing his thoughts to torture him.

“Naruto, come back,” Sasuke mumbled when Naruto moved away from him to hide behind the couch. “I have more questions, I need you.” He was trying to distract the younger from the way his mother had reacted.

He couldn’t say no to that. Crawling back out, he set himself up in front of Sasuke, ready and waiting.

“Are you sure there was only one of them? I thought there were two,” the raven murmured confused.

Naruto shook his head, holding up a single finger. He knew there was only the one, the one with her long blond hair and bipolar attitude. That’s probably what had Sasuke confused. “Sometimes nice, sometimes mean. But only one.” He cringed at the sound of his own voice. He hadn’t meant to speak aloud, not in the voice that had tortured his friend.

Sasuke didn’t seem to mind Naruto speaking, thinking that over a little bit. “Only one,” he repeated. “There were trees growing out of my arms. They were tearing me apart.”

Naruto shivered at the description, but shook his head. “The drugs. They made you see scary things. That’s how she stopped my heart.” Almost to reassure himself that said organ was still functional, he gripped his wrist tightly, finding comfort in the slow, steady beat. Impulsively, he reached out and took Sasuke’s pulse. “She didn’t stop yours. Not quite.” He didn’t want to let go. That pulse was his proof of life, his tether to sanity.

Sasuke let Naruto hold his wrist, reaching forward to touch the younger’s cheek. It was warm, which was a nice feeling. He just wanted Naruto closer so he didn’t have to be alone. “I figured that wasn’t real. … Are you sure there was only one? I was pretty sure there was a blonde one who would stroke my face and call me Kiro and then this other one who stood behind you and whispered things in your ear.”

Naruto shook his head again.  
“You were drugged. She never let me in there while she was doing things. But your mind combined the two events because it was running differently than usual.” He was frozen, terrified that if he moved, the two points of contact between them would break. His ankle ached where his weight was pressing the bone into the floor. He ignored it. His eyes closed, the bliss of Sasuke’s warmth grounding him. He bit his bottom lip, taking a deep shaky breath and leaning slightly into that hand.

“I remember a little.” Sasuke nodded slightly. “I remember never seeing you when I opened my eyes. So I kept closing my eyes until I wasn’t alone anymore.” He hadn’t wanted to confront the fact that he was completely alone. “… One time, I think she tried to bury me in hot coals.”

Naruto shivered at the event that memory sprang from. “You were cold. I think you were going into shock because it was right after your shoulder got hurt. She put three electric blankets straight on your skin, all the way turned up. You got second degree burns everywhere. She let me treat you though and got really good burn ointment.” He opened his eyes briefly, glad Sasuke hadn’t moved his hand. “I’m sorry I left you alone.” He whispered. “I never wanted to.”

Sasuke nodded a little. Second degree burns from electric blankets? That woman was crazy. “There were swarms of roaches. Sometimes I would open my eyes and see them all over my body, like they thought I was dead already or something.” The raven shuddered at the thought, his eyes slipping shut but that didn’t save him from the images.  
His eyes opened again, a little more desperate and certainly more watery now. “Naruto, we’re going to have to testify against this woman. How am I supposed to tell them what I saw? I’ll sound like a fucking lunatic, they’ll think I’m crazy and lock me up or something.”

Naruto pulled him close, holding him to his chest. “That’s why you ask, so you can know what actually happened. You know I won’t lie. And if you do describe your hallucinations, they have blood results proving you were drugged. I’ll fill in the blanks. You just… Keep me sane.” He said, clutching at him desperately. “Now ask me again. What did you see?” He wanted to put his brother’s mind at ease.

The older male let out a low sigh through his teeth, holding a little tighter to his best friend. Never once did the younger make him feel as if he was losing his mind. He took another deep breath to calm himself just like Itachi had taught him before listing, “There was only one woman. No trees. I was cold and she tried to warm me, but I got burned. And there were swarms of roaches who kept trying to eat me because they thought I was dead.”

Naruto shuddered at the mention of roaches, but nodded.  
“Unfortunately, the last one is true. I don’t have an explanation for that one. I don’t know where she kept them either because she only let them out if she was angry at me because they made you scream. I’d do whatever she wanted me to if you screamed.” He gripped Sasuke compulsively, an automatic response to the thoughts that ran through his head. The things she’d made him do… He shivered, falling limp and giving in at even the memories. He lay in Sasuke’s lap, and he knew if Sasuke commanded him something in that moment, he’d do it, no matter what. He still hadn’t broken her spell. Hot tears prickled his eyes, but he didn’t make a sound, didn’t let them fall.

“… I’m sorry.” Sasuke shook his head a little, resting a hand on the younger’s shoulder. “I didn’t think I was screaming. I always thought that I shouldn’t, but I heard someone else scream, I guess it was me…” His eyes slipped shut, head leaning back against the couch. “Naruto… Did that woman rape me?” He didn’t recall anything pointing to that, per say, but he knew he’d been out for three weeks and things happen. He knew she changed his clothes, it wouldn’t have been hard.

Naruto bit his lip, nodding. “Yeah. Several times. I tried to stop her. The first time she beat me. The second, she starved me. The third, she stopped my heart with the hallucinogenic. I was in bed for the next few. The last time, she just drugged me and did me too.” His voice was flat, body going numb. He wondered if his heart monitor was going off. It might have been, with his hearing cutting in and out like it was.

Sasuke stiffened noticeably at that blunt reply. He had been expecting the worst, but multiple times? “Fuck, how could she just- she called me her son’s name!” The Uchiha seemed to be struggling to understand just how anyone could be that messed up. He ran a hand back through his hair and sighed heavily. “Do you even remember how we got mixed up in this? I remember having a sleepover the night we were taken, but that’s it. How did it happen?”

Naruto flinched at the intensity of Sasuke’s voice, but stayed still to answer his question.  
“We were playing video games. I bet I could take out more goons than you. The forfeit was running through the sprinklers in only shorts. It was a cold night so…” He sighed.  
“You lost, stripped and went out. When you didn’t come back, I went out to look for you. She chloroformed the both of us and we woke up in hell.” He’d never forget that night, not the way the crickets sounded or how Fugaku yelled at them to turn down the volume or how Naruto had counted to a hundred and seventy six before going out in case Sasuke tried to scare him.

Sasuke let out a heavy sigh, eyes slipping shut as he tried to get a handle on the unpleasant emotions running through him. “I’m fine, everything is fine, we’re safe,” he whispered to himself before starting to count to ten. He did this three times, the entire time keeping his hand on Naruto’s shoulder to remind him that everything was going to be okay now. He had to be okay.

Naruto gently held Sasuke’s wrist when his hand settled on his shoulder, anchoring his friend to reality. He whispered the words along with the raven haired, counting with him. He found it soothing, like the whirlwind in his head was slowing down and things were going back to their places. When Sasuke stopped, so did he, watching his friend to see if there was anything he could do to help.  
“I’m sorry.” He whispered. It seemed like that was all he could say. It was his fault and he knew it. If he’d gone out with him, if he hadn’t made him pay up, if he’d watched out the window, if he’d fought harder when she covered his mouth… But he hadn’t. He’d been stupid and now they were both broken. He set his jaw, needing to turn the blame on someone else before he tore himself to shreds. But he didn’t. Instead, he closed his eyes and bowed his head, burning from the inside.

Sasuke let out a shaky breath and when his eyes finally slipped open, he couldn’t help the hint of a smile that touched his lips. “Thank you. You’re here. At least I’m not going through this hell all alone.” That made it all a little better, honestly. Wherever he was feeling, it wasn’t just him.He rested his head against Naruto’s shoulder for now. “… You know we’re going to have to testify in court, right?”

Naruto looked up at his friend’s gratitude, starting to feel a sprout of hope. Maybe there was a way to redeem himself. He tamped that down quickly. No use getting hopeful.  
Then Sasuke leaned against his shoulder and he shifted to make the angle more comfortable for his friend. The question and its implications shook him slightly, but he nodded numbly.

“Yeah. Are you going to be okay?” He was worried about Sasuke going through so much pain, being forced to relive hell. He didn’t care what happened to him as long as Sasuke was okay.

“I don’t know,” Sasuke stated honestly, his eyes slipping shut as he basically cuddled up against his friend. “I still feel like what I know is a jumbled mess, so I don’t know how useful a testimony from me would be. I mean, I still feel like I hardly understand what happened. And then to see that lady again? I’m just not entirely sure.”

Naruto hadn’t thought of that, hadn’t thought of seeing her. He felt simultaneous surges of terror and disgust. He’d have to see her and he hadn’t thought of that. Pathetic. He was an idiot.  
Ignoring that for now, he held his friend. These next months were going to be hard for Sasuke, and he was trapped between wanting to stay as close to him as possible to help and throwing himself off the roof for putting him there. It was an uncomfortable tug of war, but he’d promised Itachi to help Sasuke, so he would.

“I’ll be there.” He promised, feeling the iron chains of it already clapping around him.

“I’ll need you there.” For Sasuke, the thought of seeing that woman again was nearly crippling. He felt on the verge of another panic attack, trying to swallow it down. He started counting again. “One, two, three,” the number of times she had raped him, “Four, five, six,” the times he had those nightmares about the roaches, “seven, eight, nine,” The number of bad guys Naruto had killed to win that stupid bet, “Ten.” The number of children who didn’t make it out of there. And now Sasuke could hardly breath. “I don’t- I don’t want to see her again,” he choked out in a barely audible voice.

Naruto noticed his panic, pulling him close to his chest. He rocked gently, grabbing the blanket from their nap and pulling it around Sasuke. “It’s not okay, to see her again. It’s not. But we have to if we want to make sure she can’t do this again. If we don’t do this, she walks free in a few years. But I will not let you do it alone. I swear. You won’t be alone.” He started to hum, out of words but hoping the tone and vibration was soothing.

It took time, but eventually, Sasuke managed to relax, keeping his ear against Naruto’s chest to focus on the soothing vibrations and the steady breathing. He tried to match their breathing as best as he could. It helped calm him, he was breathing once more but hadn’t managed to keep his hands from trembling just yet. “Together. We’ll do this together,” he mumbled almost to himself. “Everything will be okay, we’re together. It’s okay.” The raven seemed to be experiencing something akin to shock, constantly reassuring himself that everything was okay.

Naruto knew it was hard to convince yourself that something horrible was over. He’d experienced something similar when his parents died and he finally got emancipated to live on his own. He just kept humming, rubbing Sasuke’s back in smooth, steady circles.  
“Together. We hold each other together.” He came to a sudden realization. Sasuke really did need him. Itachi had said it. He’d thought the words in the back of his mind. But they had been dead and meaningless until this moment. Sasuke didn’t hate him or fear him. He needed him. Tears streamed down his face as a warmth and lightness filled him.  
“I’m sorry. I won’t think about dying anymore. I’ll stay. I promise.” He whispered, continuing his humming and soothing once he’d said it.

Sasuke’s eyes flickered up as Naruto spoke about wanting to die. He hadn’t even been aware those thoughts crossed the blonde’s mind, but considering they’d taunted him as well, he shouldn’t be that surprised. “I really need you,” he whispered honestly, holding the younger tighter and burying his face back against his neck.   
And that was the scene Itachi walked in on, taking it in for a moment before clearing his throat to alert the boys he was there. “Is there anything I can get for you two?”  
The younger Uchiha looked up once more as Itachi spoke. “Another blanket would be nice. And some dinner please.” He suggested.

Naruto nodded, sniffing as he stopped his crying. He still only wanted to talk to Sasuke, but it was a start. He tugged Sasuke with him onto the couch, turning on the T.V. to some dumb little kids show. The cheery music and bright colors and solve-in-half-an-hour problems were somewhat nostalgic to him and he dozed against Sasuke’s shoulder. “You’ll still be here when I wake up, right?” He whispered.

“I’ll be right here,” Sasuke closed his eyes and just listened to the shows and voices. The colors made him feel sick, gave him flashbacks and he just didn’t want to look at them. “Are you sure you don’t wanna stay awake a little longer and eat with me?” He didn’t want to eat alone, he might throw up.

Naruto heard a note of need in Sasuke’s voice and shifted, forcing himself awake. His eyes were still droopy, but a few deep breaths fixed that. He got tired quickly with his heart messed up, but for Sasuke, he’d never sleep again. “That’s a good idea. I can wait. Do you want to watch something else?” Sasuke was tense, eyes closed. Naruto didn’t want him to be uncomfortable.

Onyx eyes slipped open at that question, slightly watery as he tried to fight off the thoughts that wanted to invade. “Maybe we could listen to music instead? The TV is giving me a headache.” It was partially the truth, all of that had left him with a headache, but it wasn’t completely the reason he wanted the TV off.  
Itachi returned with two small plates of food at that time. Sasuke still couldn’t eat much without feeling nauseous, nor could Naruto for that matter, and he’d assumed the boys would be eating together.

Naruto quickly switched to an easy listening station on the music channels, putting the screen to sleep as the food arrived. He sat up slightly, flattening his lap under the blanket to hold the plate.  
It wasn’t that the simple grilled cheese didn’t look good. It was just that the smell made his head reel, senses heightened from the dark of the basement. It was that it was too hot, even through the blanket and plate, for him to be comfortable with it near Sasuke. It was that it was just as fake as the rest of this reality. He glanced as m at Sasuke, gripping his hand conclusively under the blankets.

Sasuke shifted to a more comfortable position now that there was just soft music playing, on the verge of pulling his hand away so that he could eat. Itachi left the room for the moment, but Naruto clung tighter to his hand and Sasuke could tell something was wrong. “Naruto, what is it?” He asked in as soothing a voice as he could manage.

“It’s too much.” He whispered, putting it as far away from him and Sasuke as he could reach. “It’s not real.” His mind flickered between the basement and the living room. The basement, where he threw up his and Sasuke’s midnight snack of grilled cheese from the aftereffects of chloroform. He squeezed Sasuke’s hand. “It’s not real.” He tried to convince himself.

Almost urgently Sasuke reached up to cup Naruto’s face in his hands, trying to make the younger look at him, focus on him. “It’s not real.” He repeated softly, rubbing scarred cheeks with his thumbs. “Count with me, focus on my voice,” he murmured before beginning to count to ten just like his brother told him to do whenever he got stressed and confused.

Naruto looked into Sasuke’s eyes, counting with him. The methodical sequence and rhythmic motion of Sasuke’s thumbs on his face helped him calm, helped him solidify himself in this reality. “Sorry.” He whispered. “I’m back, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Sasuke shook his head a little. “I get it.” It happened to him sometimes, too. He couldn’t even look at the TV earlier from fear it would happen again. “I hope I can be here every time you need me.”

“Me too.” He whispered, pulling the grilled cheese towards himself.  
“We should try to eat.” He said, steeling himself and taking a small bite. It took all his self control not to spit it back out, too unsettled to really want to eat, but he managed to chew and swallow, smiling weakly at Sasuke.

Sasuke returned the smile almost sadly before taking a bite of his own grilled cheese. Itachi had given him half for the time being, subtly trying to be sure Sasuke knew he shouldn’t eat too much. He took his time eating, knowing eating too fast would also make him sick. Slowly, both boys were trying to get used to the new reality that was their situation at the moment.

Naruto forced his way through half of his half of the sandwich before he just couldn’t make himself choke down anymore. He put the sandwich aside, leaning his head on Sasuke’s shoulder and breathing slowly to settle his stomach. He was cold again, shivering. It made him frustrated. Everything made him so angry. He was weak and broken and it wasn’t fair that he and Sasuke had had their lives ruined. He was always cold and that stupid monitor was digging into his ribs. He was suddenly furious. Standing up abruptly, he threw the remnants of his sandwich at the wall, screaming and crying with pure fury.  
“It’s not fair!” He grabbed the pillows off the couches and threw those too, then the magazines and the remotes and the books. He sobbed, cursing loudly as he continued his rampage.  
He could hear the heart monitor screaming, knew he was probably scaring Sasuke to death. But he was just so angry and he couldn’t sit still. He roared one last time, throwing the decorative candle. Dizzy and underoxygenated, he fell backward, curling up on the floor in furious tears.

Sasuke was trembling like a leaf when Naruto screamed. A voice echoed, screaming words he couldn’t hear as he was shaken so hard his shoulder dislocated. Breath Sasuke, breath, he tried to tell himself, but he couldn’t. Itachi and his father sprinted into the room when they heard Naruto yell, quickly taking in the scene at hand. Sasuke was curled in a ball trying to protect himself while Naruto threw things around the living room. Naruto fell to the ground just as the two men rushed forward, Itachi trying to calm Naruto while his father tried to make Sasuke breath before he hurt himself. “Naruto, Naruto you need to calm down,” Itachi spoke calmly and firmly, rubbing soothing circles over the blonde’s back.

Naruto sobbed and choked, unable to get in enough air for his overworked heart.  
“Not fair.” He whispered, coughing hard and shivering. “We’re broken and it’s not fair.” He could barely hear Sasuke gasping over the pounding in his ears.  
“I’m sorry Sasuke.” He sobbed. “I’m sorry.” His chest gave him a sharp stab every time he tried to suck air in but he imagined the beeping was slowing down. He coughed, curling against Itachi’s knees.

Sasuke didn’t seem to even register his father holding more protectively than he’d ever held anything in his pretty long time. “Why did you leave me? You were supposed to be mine forever!” That haunting echo tore him apart, following him even when he finally went limp in his father’s arms and fell unconscious from the lack of oxygen his panic caused. He couldn’t escape the nightmares, though, and his father cradled his son’s head against his chest and held him through each and every tremble while Itachi tried to get Naruto to relax.

Naruto wouldn’t relax, not when his blurry vision could barely make out Sasuke passed out. He crawled to Sasuke’s legs, panting and gasping. He couldn’t pull himself up but he could lean there against his friend, trying to catch his breath. “Count.” He whispered to Itachi, knowing the numbers would help.  
Recognizing the tactic as the one he’s taught Sasuke, Itachi easily compiled, counting as calmly as possible. Once he got to ten, he started over. Fugaku was counting, too, trying to summon enough self control not to go kill that woman who had done this to his precious son. It would be a crime of passion, he’d get five years tops, probably less as chief of police. That would be too easy a death for her, though. She’s deserved to rot and suffer for what she’d done. Without his permission, silent tears fell down those pale cheeks and onto his unconscious child’s forehead.  
Naruto counted along, trying to match his breaths to the numbers. He got his heart rate down enough for the beeping to stop. Sasuke still wasn’t awake. He shivered, drawing his limbs to his core. The sweat drenching he’d gotten from his rampage didn’t help his chronically low temperature. “Is he okay?” He whispered to Itachi, clearly asking after Sasuke.

“He will be,” Fugaku answered Naruto’s question, neither of the others in the room able to see the tears trickling down his face. His one duty as a father was to protect his children, and he had failed his youngest so badly. “He passed out, and it seems like he’s still having a bad dream, but he’ll be okay.” He could feel the boys heart thumping quickly against his own chest, doing all he could to keep Sasuke as calm as possible.

Naruto nodded, closing his eyes. He was so exhausted and they’d barely been home a few hours. This was only their first day home. Was every day going to be like this? No. He and Sasuke would need a schedule. Something to live every day by predictably, no surprises.  
“Tachi? We need to talk.” He whispered. “Can I have some water?” He needed to be able to focus, so he needed to hydrate.

Itachi nodded a little, rising to his feet again so he could go get Naruto water without much fuss. He paused for a moment to look at Sasuke and for the first time noticed the tears his father was shedding. He didn’t draw attention to it. He’d allowed his own frustrated tears the last few weeks, it didn’t make him think any less of the man. With that, he got Naruto a glass of water, waiting patiently until Naruto was ready to speak to him.

Naruto sipped slowly, breathing calmly to clear his head. He would probably drop of exhaustion soon, but he could do this. He shifted, straightening. “Sasuke and I, we’re going to need a schedule, every day. Predictable. No surprises. While I’m semi lucid and so I don’t freak while Sasuke is unconscious, let’s plan one.” He murmured, his eyes drooping but voice steady.

“We can do that, yeah,” Itachi nodded his head a little, not commenting on how this was the most Naruto had said to him in weeks. He was just so happy there was something he could do to help his little brothers. He pulled out his phone so they could write the schedule in the notes section of it. “Let’s start at the beginning. What time do you want to wake up?”

Naruto considered, brain working even slower than usual with fatigue. “We’re going to be struggling to sleep, so we’ll need a bit of extra time most likely. Let’s try nine. Of that doesn’t work, we can adjust.” His eyes were fixed on Sasuke, hand stealing up to find the raven haired boy’s. “We should also lay out our clothes the night before so we don’t have to think about it while we’re groggy.” He added.

Sasuke seemed more relaxed now in his father’s arms, as if he was just sleeping, but the man was holding Sasuke’s other wrist worriedly, keeping a close watch on his pulse to be sure it didn’t drop or anything of the sort.  
“Nine sounds reasonable,” Itachi agreed easily, writing that down before asking, “What should we have for breakfast each morning? Maybe toast and jelly?” It was easy to eat, after all.

Naruto nodded.  
“If we rotate between toast, oatmeal and cereal, we won’t get bored. Just not eggs. That’s what she dumped down Sasuke’s feeding tube time after time.” He squeezed Sasuke’s hand gently.

Sasuke didn’t squeeze back, steady breathing getting to replenish the oxygen he’d been deprived in his state of panic. “Alright, that’s fine.” He wasn’t exactly a medical specialist, but eggs didn’t seem like a smart choice to put down a feeding tube. “Maybe after breakfast, we could all go for a walk?”

“Walking is good. Exercise and sunshine but not a lot of exertion.” Naruto murmured. “We’d have to make it short until my heart heals a bit.” He said, rubbing his thumbs over Sasuke’s knuckles. “Then some kind of quiet, creative activity. It’s not healthy to be holding all this crap in. Writing, art, sculpting, music, something.” He sighed, feeling sleepier by the minute.

“Sasuke will be in his wheelchair for a little while longer,” Itachi added, knowing his brother would take more time to gain his strength back. “After our walk and arts and crafts, we can do lunch. Maybe sandwiches and fruit? And after that, we’ll cancel both of your appointments, so they’ll be at the same time every day you go.”  
N  
aruto nodded. “Yeah. But no more grilled cheese. It was the last thing we ate before she took us. And same time appointments will be good.” He was trying hard to stay awake till Sasuke woke up, but he was failing, head nodding. “Rest time after doctor appointments so we don’t get too tired. We’re going to need time for physical therapy too, but that’ll be good to tire us out before bed. You’re better with meals. What should we do for dinner?”

Itachi gently pulled Naruto’s head to rest on his shoulder so the younger could sleep easily. “I think pastas and soups would be great for dinner,” Itachi offered. That would mean tomato soup and ramen were still on the table. “Then we can all relax together until you two are ready to go to bed,” he concluded, that seeming like a pretty solid plan to him.

Naruto hummed agreeably, leaning heavily into Itachi’s warm chest.  
“You’re warm.” He mumbled. “And it’s a good plan. Is Sasuke okay?” He forced his eyes open briefly, glancing at his friend. No, he had to stay awake. But Itachi was warm and comforting. He fought the sleepiness.  
“Is Sasuke okay?” He repeated.

“Sasuke is okay,” their father answered the question once again, still holding his youngest as if he was the most fragile thing ever. “He just got scared and forgot to breathe, that’s all. He needs to rest, but he’s calm now at least.”Itachi wrapped a blanket gently around Naruto. “He’ll be right here when you wake up. We’re not moving from this spot, don’t worry.”

Naruto relaxed, dropping off to sleep against Itachi.


End file.
